Voice In Sport

Latest Episodes:

Episode 80. Melissa Humana Paredes- How do you respond to failure? Jul 20, 2022

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Melissa Humana Paredes, a pro beach volleyball player, 6-time FIVB Gold Medalist, 12-time FIVB Medalist, 5-time Canadian Champion, 2-time AVP Champion, Commonwealth Champion, and most recently, a World Champion shares her journey in sport! Melissa shares how she started her professional career very young, and how she continued to grow in the sport. She tells us about the mistakes and errors she’s made along the way, and how she learned to grow from them. In this episode, Melissa touches on the topics of body image and confidence. She also talks about how to stay engaged and avoid burnout in an individual sport like beach volleyball. Finally, Melissa reminds us that how we respond to failure is the most important determinant of our careers, on and off the court, and that when failure does happen, we need to give ourselves grace. “ I think it's how you respond to the failures that's going to be able to guide the rest of your career.” - Melissa Humana Paredes

Episode 79. Molly Carlson- A Pro Diver's Journey with Body Image & Mental Health Jul 14, 2022

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Team Canada High Diver Molly Carlson, three time NCAA All American Diver, three time ACC MVP of the year, two-time junior pan-american champion, two-time junior world champion finalist, and seven time junior national champion speaks with us about her journey in diving, her mental health challenges and triumphs spanning from her high school to professional career, and her social media efforts promoting mental health awareness. In this episode, Molly speaks candidly about her journey and advice on how young women athletes can approach their journey inside and out of sport as one that includes improving mental health. Molly emphasizes, “ If you're up there every single day, and you're so positive and happy to be there and working on changes and allowing yourself to fail, then those beautiful dives will come your way. And it doesn't matter how. Big, small, beautiful. All bodies are beautiful.” - Molly Carlson

Episode 78. Anna Hopkin- How Stepping Away from Sport led to an Olympic Gold Jul 05, 2022

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Olympic Gold medalist in Tokyo and English swimming star, Anna Hopkin, shares her journey in sports. Anna started competing nationally at a very early age, but today she explains how stepping away from the sport for four years in her teenage years helped her find balance and learn to love swimming again. This decision helped her prioritise her mental and physical health and have a long career in the pool when it mattered most, ultimately leading her to win an Olympic gold medal in the Mixed 4x 100m Medley Relay. Now, Anna swims for Arkansas University where she recently placed second at the NCAA’s 100 yard freestyle. In today’s episode, Anna also shares her Olympic experience, and dives into how she maintained her motivation throughout Covid when she could not swim. “If you don't enjoy what you're doing, then you're never going to achieve what you want to, whether it's in a sport or in a job or in a relationship” - Anna Hopkin.

Episode 77. CeCé Telfer- Living Your Truth as a Trans-Woman Athlete Jun 28, 2022

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Jamaican-American hurdler, CeCé Telfer, shares her journey to becoming the first openly trans-gender woman to win an NCAA title. CeCé talks us through her experience at Franklin Pierce University, and how her transition has allowed her to break down doors for trans-athletes to follow. In this episode she shares how she is continuing to push the boundaries of sports and change the culture of athletics. “You're valid in your feelings and you're not alone. You can do it too. At the end of the day, standing up for yourself and living your truth are the most important. You deserve to live your life. And you deserve to go all the way to the top, and you deserve a coach, and you deserve to be trained because you matter and fighting for that is right.” -CeCé Telfer

Episode 76. Hailey Swirbul- Reframing What Motivates You Jun 14, 2022

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Olympian Hailey Swirbul, a professional cross country skier, and a member of the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center & US Ski Team on the A-team, and member of the Women’s Ski Coach Association shares her journey in sport. We learn about Hailey’s highly active upbringing in Colorado which led her to skiing at age 10. After being the only skier at her high school, she transitioned to college where she skied for both University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University before beginning her professional career. Hailey walks us through her experiences with an eating disorder, anxiety, and depression. She shares with us her challenges through college burnout and how identifying and reframing her motivators served as primary factors to recovery and success. This episode, Hailey gets real with us and reminds us, “it's not considered a failure until you actually give up on it. No matter what it is, no matter if it's being the best version of yourself, if it's chasing a goal for a result, if it's being a great teammate.” - Hailey Swirbul

Episode 75. Chari Hawkins - Mental Training & Creating Your Story Jun 01, 2022

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On Global Running Day, professional heptathlete Chari Hawkins, the 2022 USA Indoor Champion in the heptathlon shares her journey with sports and mental health. In the heptathlon, athletes compete in 7 events: hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m run, long jump, javelin, and the 800m. Chari is one of the best heptathletes in the world, and is currently ranked 6th globally. In this episode, Chari shares her journey with sports psychology and how she turned mental health into her biggest strength as an athlete. She also shares how she learned detach her identity from performance, and write down her dreams, goals and obstacles in order to create her own story. Chari’s journey shows the importance of mental health in sports and performance. Despite performing really well in college and winning conference as a freshman, Chari struggled with severe performance anxiety. Today, she is an inspiring advocate for overcoming anxiety and panic attacks as a professional athlete at the highest level.

Episode 74. Annie Kunz- Strength is Beautiful, Embrace it! May 10, 2022

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Annie Kunz, professional heptathlete and olympian at the 2021 Tokyo olympics guides us through her journey in sports. She shares with us her journey with mental health, nutrition, and body image, and reminds us that we are all on our own journeys so we shouldn’t compare ourselves to other athletes but instead embrace ourselves for who we are and strive to be the best, strongest, healthiest version of ourselves. Annie also discusses the importance of our period and how our cycles can help us to be more in touch with fueling or balancing our hormones. Annie continues to be an inspiration through her work on and off the track. “Keep showing up every day, even when it's hard, even when it feels like you aren't capable, and it doesn't feel fun. If you are passionate about something, you have a dream just keep showing up. If you show up every day and give your best, it will pay off in the end.” - Annie Kunz

Episode 73. Monica Abbott- A 2x Olympic Medalist on Time Management & Positive Self-Talk May 03, 2022

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Monica Abbott is one of softball’s greatest, with four World Championships, two Olympic medals, three Canada Cup titles, and five National Pro Fastpitch Championships under her belt. Being the first woman to sign a million dollar contract, Monica continues to set a new standard for not only softball players, but all young girls who aspire to profess in their sport. She tells us how the balance of time management, preparation, and positive self-talk contributed to her success, and how it can contribute to yours as well. “Just go for it, go all in. At some point someone's going to open a door for you. That might be a little crack in the door. It might be big wide open door, but it's up to you to like run through it as fast as you can and don't look back.” -Monica Abbott

Episode 72. Haleigh Washington- Pro Volleyball Abroad & Knowing Yourself Apr 26, 2022

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Haleigh Washington, Olympic gold medalist, professional volleyball player and VIS League Mentor shares her journey in sport. Haleigh speaks about how she got into the sport and the sacrifices she and her family had to make for her to play volleyball. She dives into her collegiate experience, and how she prepared herself to play professionally. Haleigh also shares what playing abroad in Italy is like, and describes her experience at the Tokyo Olympics! Beyond her journey, Haleigh gives us great advice on embracing our emotions as athletes, learning to fail and taking deep breaths every day. Haleigh is an inspiration, reminding us that we might find ourselves struggling with anxiety or depression, but all that aside, we are who we are and that is what makes us beautiful. “You have to honor who you are, which is a very difficult thing to do, because it means that you have to know who you are” - Haleigh Washington.

Episode 71. Laura Thweatt- Persevering in the Marathon and in Life Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

Laura Thweatt, professional marathoner for Saucony and VIS League™ member shares her journey in sport. Laura speaks about her experience with underfueling and the resultant cycle of injuries she had to overcome in college. She takes us through how she learned to value her own journey, and understood that there are many paths to success. Laura is an inspiration, reminding us to believe in ourselves and persevere through failures, in order to chase our dreams. She shares how this determination helped her grow after college, going from uncertainty about whether she could have a career in running, to becoming one of the best marathoners in the United States. Laura reminds us that our individuality is a strength and our uniqueness is a superpower. “There is power in owning your journey, and there's power in remembering that there are a thousand different ways to get somewhere. There is not one way to get anywhere. You are your superpower.” - Laura Thweatt

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